Golf Compendium

The United States Amateur Championship, more commonly called the U.S. Amateur, is the top tournament for male amateur golfers in America. It is run by the United States Golf Association (USGA). Most observers consider it the most-important tournament for amateur men golfers in the world.

What is the "short side" of the green? When you hear an announcer during a golf broadcast say, "she short-sided herself with that shot," what does that mean? These terms refer to the position of the flagstick on the putting green, and the golfer's position relative to it.

Craig Wood won two major championships in the year of 1941, but before that he was known for his losses in majors: He was the first player in golf history to lose all four men's majors in extra holes. But he was a consistent winner from the late 1920s through the early 1940s, and was known for prodigious length off the tee.

Putt for Dough is the name of a golf game in which points are awarded for made putts on each hole. But not just any putts — one-putts. And the value of those one-putts is determined by distance.

"Proxy contest" is a collective name for several distance-related bonus games that organizers of some golf tournaments — charity tournaments, corporate outings, association playdays and the like — include as part of the day's play. We're talking about things such as closest-to-the-pin contests.

How often has a tour player won a "regular" PGA Tour tournament one week, then won a major championship the following week? Not very often! It's a rare achievement. But it does happen every so often.

Have you ever heard of a golf game called Joker Stableford? It's a fun game for a group of two, three or four golfers, ideal for friendly wagering or just bragging rights. The bottom line: Joker Stableford is played using Modified Stableford scoring, but you get to double your points on one or more holes that you select before the round begins.

The 2020 PGA Championship was the 102nd time this tournament, one of the four major championships of men's professional golf, was played. It was won by a golfer who was playing in this major for the very first time.

A golfer who wins the PGA Championship once is doing something few tour golfers will ever do: win a major. A golfer who wins the PGA Championship twice joins an exclusive club of multiple major winners. But a golfer who wins the PGA Championship three times or more? That's much harder to do, so hard that only six golfers (so far) have accomplished the feat.

Lew Worsham was a professional golfer who won on the PGA Tour and also had a long and distinguished career as a club professional. He is best-known as a U.S. Open champion, but he also was an important player in the earliest days of televised golf.